That’s all happened, ultimately, because these policies have received a great deal of criticism from people who purchase these games- the age old argument goes that full-priced AAA games have no business featuring such monetization options, especially when they’re of the pay-to-win variety rather than being limited to just cosmetic items. At the same time, the other side argues that video game publishers are businesses, and they need to find ways to maximize their profits.

Recently, we sat down for a chat with 704Games’ Sean Wilson, executive producer of the upcoming racing sim NASCAR Heat 3, and asked him for his own two cents on the issue- and he mostly seems to fall in line with what the consensus on this is. Cosmetic microtransactions are acceptable to some degree, he says, but when it comes to pay-to-win mechanics, he can “understand the frustration” of consumers.

“From a straight-up business perspective, I understand why companies have included microtransactions,” Wilson said while speaking with GamingBolt. “They’ve been successful in generating extra revenue, plain and simple. And for better or worse, game companies are businesses, and businesses will always look for ways to increase their bottom lines.”

“If it stays about cosmetic content, and ideally if that content is created after the game is submitted (and therefore required an extra expense to create), then the microtransaction model is probably okay,” he continued. “But it’s a tough pill to swallow when someone asks me to pay extra for content that is already on the disc, or even worse, requires that I pay extra to win or be competitive. That crosses a line, and I understand the frustration.”